During an engine operation, some combustion gases, generally referred to as blow-by gases, may leak from an engine cylinder into a crankcase. These gases may mix with oil particles present in the crankcase, which may increase pressure in the crankcase. To relieve the pressure in the crankcase, these gases are typically vented out of the crankcase, e.g., to the atmosphere. Government regulations relating to environmental concerns have mandated engine manufacturers for heavy duty utilities to use engines with a crankcase ventilation system. Such crankcase ventilation system may employ an engine crankcase breather for segregating the oil particles present in the gases, before being released into the atmosphere.
Typically, conventional crankcase ventilation systems use engine crankcase breathers having foil mesh filters for treating blow-by gases prior to the gases being released to the atmosphere. U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,609 (the '609 patent) discloses a plate separator for separating liquids, such as an oil mist, out of a stream of gas with a transverse through flow. The '609 patent discloses a plurality of pairs of curved deflecting surfaces with concave sides facing one another. The curved deflecting surfaces may include an inflow-side and an outflow-side. The inflow-side deflecting surfaces have a curvature increasing in the direction of flow, and the outflow-side deflecting surfaces have a curvature decreasing in the direction of the flow.